New Delhi: When Southampton hosts Manchester United in St Mary’s on Saturday in the Premier League, the two teams will come to competition seeking to get their winning touch back. Southampton have only scored once and haven’t won a single game. United, though, won their opening game against Fulham but faced back-to-back losses against Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool.
Southampton was the only team, along with Everton, that hadn’t scored a single point at the start of the international break. They suffered home losses of 1-0 to Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest before losing 3-1 to Brentford in an away fixture, with their summer signing Yukinari Sugawara the only one to score for the Saints in the tournament so far.
Russell Martin had previously led the club to Championship promotion through playoffs in the last season. However, regarding the performance of the team in recent games, sources have claimed that the 38-year-old manager could see himself terminated from the role very soon.
The Saints currently have four games lined up for this month, and Martin’s strategy is to get positive results, starting with their home clash with Manchester United. They will then play Everton, recently promoted Ipswich Town and Bournemouth. They are now at risk of repeating their 1998-99 and 2012-13 tournament performance, where they lost all of their first games.
Having suffered back-to-back defeats this season, United haven’t shown much improvement in their performance from the last few seasons. Erik ten Hag is yet to make a major turnaround for the team after almost getting fired from the club by new owner Jim Ratcliffe.
The Red Devils opened their tournament with a 1-0 win against Fulham, but it wasn’t convincing. Their 2-1 loss to Brighton and 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford showed the gap the team has to bridge to play at the top tier of English football. Ten Hag has been under a lot of criticism for not being able to help the side.
The Dutch manager has dismissed the comments and said that it doesn’t impact him. He has maintained that this is a long competition that needs to be judged in May next year and not at the start of the season. Ten Hag’s side has some stats favouring them in the game. ST Mary’s is the stadium where they have been unbeaten in the last 12 Premier League matches. In their previous 30 Premier League meetings, United have only lost once.
Team News
Southampton are without the services of Gavin Baznu, who has an Achilles tendon injury, and Aaron Ramsdale will continue as their primary shot-stopper. Kamaldeen Sulemana is also on the sidelines due to an ankle injury. Ben Bereton Diaz, though, was withdrawn early in Chile’s CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier game against Bolivia, but only for tactical reasons, and he will be fit to appear in the front with either Cameron Archer or Adam Armstrong.
Ross Stewart has returned to training after being unavailable for a while, although it is unclear if he is match-ready. Flynn Downes, Will Smallbone and Joe Aribo, though, had started in the midfield, but with Mateus Fernandes and Adam Lallana coming into the side through summer transfer, they could find themselves fighting for a spot in the starting XI of Martin’s team.
Ten Hag mentioned that Manchester United will be without Rasmus Hojlund and Luke Shaw due to hamstring and calf injuries. Leny Yoro is still recovering from a foot injury, Victor Lindelof from a toe injury, and Mason Mount from a muscle injury. New signing Manuel Ugarte also reported feeling under the weather before playing for Uruguay, but Ten Hag confirmed the midfielder’s availability to make his debut for Unite.
Ugarte will probably start in place of Casemiro, whose outing against Liverpool was forgettable. Captain Bruno Fernandes is also fit to take part in the game after revealing that the knock he sustained during Portugal’s win over Scotland in the UEFA Nations League was minor.
Predicted lineups
Southampton:
Ramsdale; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens; Sugawara, Fernandes, Downes, Smallbone, Walker-Peters; Brereton Diaz, Archer
Manchester United:
Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot; Ugarte, Mainoo; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee
Early Predictions
Given that neither team have been in great form in recent times, it is Manchester United who will have the upper hand in the game with their record in the St Mary’s ground and their record against Southampton. The match could give 0-2 Manchester United win as the Premier League season restarts.
Where to Watch in India?
Fans in India can catch the Southampton vs Manchester United match live on the Star Sports network. The game will also be available for live streaming on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website. The match is scheduled to kick off at 5:00 pm IST on Saturday, September 14.
Both Southampton and Manchester United are coming to the draw with underwhelming performances in their opening three games, but they will both try to turn the tide around after the international break. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
